Her Fearful Symmetry

Audrey NiffeneggerJonathan Cape

Five years after the success­ful novel, The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger has returned with a story that is both powerful and rewarding. Her new book tells the story of two sets of twins and the dynamics of their relationships – how can you simultaneously be both the same and different?

Niffenegger explores this paradox with zest. Julia and Valentina Poole are identical “mirror” twins (one has her heart on the left, the other on the right) who have led pretty uneventful lives in suburban Chicago up until the point that they receive a mysterious letter from a solicitor in London. The letter contains the will of their aunt Elsbeth who has left them her flat overlooking Highgate Cemetery. They must live there for one year, and their mother (consequentially Elsbeth’s twin) is not allowed into the flat. The girls become entwined in unravelling lives while Valentina and Julia’s relationship becomes hankered too.

A 21st Century ghost story, adorable and funny. This book will knock your socks off.